Gay Olympian Adam Rippon Reportedly Refused Meeting With Mike Pence

Gay Olympian Adam Rippon Reportedly Refused Meeting With Mike Pence

Openly gay Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon apparently gave Mike Pence the cold shoulder last month when the vice president asked for a meeting.

Openly gay Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon apparently gave Mike Pence the cold shoulder last month when the vice president asked for a meeting.

USA Today reported Wednesday that, according to two sources, Rippon declined a meeting with Pence that the vice president tried to arrange with the help of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

On Wednesday night, Pence, who will lead the official U.S. delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, sent the following tweet:

.@Adaripp I want you to know we are FOR YOU. Don’t let fake news distract you. I am proud of you and ALL OF OUR GREAT athletes and my only hope for you and all of #TeamUSA is to bring home the gold. Go get ‘em!

Rippon’s comments inspired Pence’s press secretary Alyssa Farah to send a rebuttal, claiming “Rippon’s accusation is totally false and has no basis in fact,” adding that the vice president “will be enthusiastically supporting all the U.S. athletes competing next month in Pyeongchang.”

The 28-year-old Rippon is the first openly gay U.S. man to qualify for the Winter Olympics, though a number of Olympic figure skaters have come out as members of the LGBTQ community after their competitive days have ended.

This story has been updated to include Pence’s tweet and Kelly Rippon’s CNN interview.